On Sat, 30 Jan 2010 23:51:48 -0500, mm
wrote:


Failing to wear a seatbelt is negligence but it doesn't cause the
accident.

This line of mine is unclear. Failing to use a seatbelt is negligence
but isn't legal negligence unless one has a duty to someone else, such
as to drive or ride carefully, that isn't performed unless one wears a
seatbelt. And even if a scenario could be creat ed where failure to
wear a seatbelt endangered other people in the car, unless someone
else B is actually injured because A failed to wear the seatbelt, it
is only "negligence in the air" and it's not actionable.

I had an annoying, compulsive acquaintance who insisted once that I
wear a seatbelt when I drove in our infrequent carpool. Maybe he
thought that if we got hit from the side, I'd be better able to
control the car afterwards if I was wearing my seatbelt. It's
conceivable but unlikely it would make any difference at that point.
And since we were in a rural area, or on a mostly empty expressway, it
was very unlikely I'd get hit from the side. Had there been an
accident, unless my failure to wear the seatbelt somehow caused the
accident or caused him greater injury than if I had been wearing the
seatbelt, my failure to wear the seatbelt wouldn't have mattered.